Ada West District distributes items to physically challenged

Seventy-one people with various disabilities in the Ada West District in the Greater Accra Region have received various items from the assembly as start-up kits for their sustainability.

The items included deep freezers, industrial sewing machines, knitting machines, sewing machines, wheel chairs, wheat, elbow crutches, bags of charcoal and physical cash for petty trading among others.

During the presentation at Sege, the district capital last Tuesday, the Ada West District Chief Executive (DCE), Sampson Tetteh Kpankpah, said the assembly existed to improve the living standards of its citizenry including the physically challenged.

Mr Kpankpah noted that in pursuit of the vision of the Ada West District, the overall goal of the 2018-2021 Medium Term Development Plan was “to improve upon the general living standard of the people through a concerted effort of all stakeholders to create an enabling environment for the growth and development of the private sector.”

The DCE said the assembly would always ensure that it performed its mandated services that would enhance the living conditions of the people, more especially the physically challenged to earn a decent living with their families.

“Per the letters that the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development received from you on behalf of the assembly, you as individuals were the people who requested for the items we are presenting to you today.

“So since you requested for it, make sure that you put the items to good use for those of you who received items.

Those who also received physical cash, ensure that you put them into the petty trading you want to pursue.

“At the end of the day, we only want you people to prove to those who think that when you are physically challenged that is the end of your life wrong,” Mr Kpankpah stated.

Sale of items

The DCE said it was alleged that some physically challenged persons sold the items they received and therefore cautioned that the assembly would form a strong task force to be headed by the Director of Social Welfare and Community Development, to monitor the activities of the recipients of the items from time to time.

The Director for the Social Welfare and Community Development, Abigail Teye, lauded some of the previous recipients for making good use of the items they received as she had noticed during her monitoring.

The President of the Ada West District Federation of Disables, Theophilus Awudu Amuyaw, advised his colleagues not to keep the items as decorative items at home, but rather make economic gains out of them for other dependents to also benefit.